The measure would have prohibited the repeal or amendment of a citizen initiative by the Missouri General Assembly. Exceptions include a three-fourths vote in both the House and the Senate, by vote of the people via referendum, or if a statute specifically grants the General Assembly the authority to repeal the measure via majority vote.[1]

Text of measure

The ballot title for the petition relating to citizen initiatives read:[2]

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to prohibit the repeal or amendment by the General Assembly of a statute enacted by citizen initiative passed by the voters of Missouri, except by either a three-fourths vote of the members of each house or a vote of the people through a referendum or unless such statute explicitly provides that the general assembly may repeal or amend it by a majority vote of the members of each house?

The proposal is estimated to result in no direct costs or savings to state and local governmental entities.

Support

The measure was supported by a group called Your Vote Counts!. Rep. Scott Sifton serves as the spokespersonf or the group. "It should take more than a simple legislative majority to overturn the vote of millions of Missourians," said Sifton.[4]

Although the initiative effort was partially fueled by 2010's "puppy mill" initiative, supporters said that is only the most recent example of initiatives being overturned or changed by the legislature. Pete Sepp, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, said, "Regardless of the individual issue that triggered action, the overall principle of protecting citizen-initiated statutes is very important, from a taxpayer's perspective."[5]

Donors

Opposition

Some lawmakers argued that the proposed amendment was too strict and may cause problems in the future. House Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller agreed that lawmakers must respect the will of the voters but argues that lawmakers should also have the flexibility to fix "any unintended consequences of initiatives." The three-fourths requirement set by the proposed amendment, would make that very difficult, he said.[5]

Path to the ballot

To qualify for the ballot, the initiative required signatures from registered voters equal to 5% of the total votes cast in the 2008 governor's election from six of the state's nine congressional districts. Signatures on behalf of all initiative petitions for the 2012 ballot were due to the secretary of state’s office by no later than 5 p.m. on May 6, 2012.